The average wedding today costs $30,000. However, there does not seem to be an average way of paying for the wedding, which varies from both parents pitching in to the couple themselves helping out to the cost going on credit cards. However the cost is split, the funds are cutting into retirement savings. Whether it is the aging parents loosing funds that could be stashed away or the young couple spending what they could be putting away for retirement on credit card payments, the skyrocketing costs of weddings is making eloping look better when planning for the future post wedding day.